The Temptations
by Allan Arkush
(Click here)
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Charles Malik Whitfield, Christian Payton, D.B. Woodside, Leon, Terron BrooksDirector: Allan Arkush
DVD: 2 Layers, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 150 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-03-23
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Evergreen Ent
Movie Reviews of The Temptations
Movie Review: Love It!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the VHS version several years ago and watched it last night for the first time in a long time. I remember having seen the movie when it was originally broadcast on NBC back in the late 90s.
For anyone who is a fan of Motown, the Temptations, music from the 50s-60s era - this is a must see! The movie begins in 1957 and chronicles the history not only of the Temptations but includes a lot of Motown history as well. The music is out of this world!
Because I'd seen the show when it was originally aired on TV, I realized that some key scenes had been excluded from the VHS; this was very disappointing. Note that the special was broadcast on two nights at 2 hours each and the VHS is only 2-1/2 hours long, you can figure that quite a bit had been cut. The pacing seems too quick on the VHS and you get the feeling that you missed something. Case in point: There is a scene that had been cut from the VHS that shows Paul Williams in the early years refusing a beer and drinking milk instead. But in the VHS version, the viewer is unaware of Paul's uncharacteristic descent into alcholism until later when his problem is obvious and one of the band members comments that Paul used to refuse to drink. When Otis informs the band (then called the Elgins) that they needed to come up with a new name before Mr. Gordy would allow them to audition, the boys banter names back and forth along the sidewalk in front of Hitsville U.S.A. Their struggle to think of a name was the scene that was cut and I no longer remember which one of the group came up with the Temptations. Anyway, that's just a small sampling of deleted scenes. There were many others.
I was pleasantly surprised to read in another viewer's review that the DVD contains the full version. It is well worth purchasing the film again just to have the full version, so I'm clicking this gem into my cart.
In closing, I think it should be mentioned that the movie was based upon a book by Otis Williams and that the story is told from his perspective. Although I loved their music, I was totally unaware of what went on behind-the-scenes. Sometimes fame exacts a terrible price from those who are unable to handle it.
Summary of The Temptations
Conceived as a television miniseries, this portrait of the epochal Motown vocal group scores as one of the most detailed re-creations of the '60s pop milieu ever filmed. Told largely through the eyes of founding member Otis Williams (Charles Malik Whitfield), The Temptations portrays its protagonists as soul Everymen whose early triumphs closely followed, and helped expand, Motown Records' emergence as "the Sound of Young America," providing an inspirational fable for black Americans.Inevitably, of course, the story is also a cautionary tale about the price of success for both the Temps and their mentor, Motown founder Berry Gordy (Obba Babatunde). With hit records and tours, Williams and his partners grapple with drugs, alcohol, depression, jealousy, and delusions of grandeur. In particular, the galvanic lead singer David Ruffin (Leon) serves as both a focal strength and potential destroyer for the group, as his ego combines with a mounting cocaine habit to create a monster. At the same time, Gordy's eventual decision to leave his and the label's home, Detroit, for Los Angeles marks a loss of innocence for the group and their label-mates. The film provides ample insider detail about how the former Ford assembly-line worker created and controlled his unique hit factory.
Based on the biography coauthored by Williams and former manager Shelly Berger, the project gets a vital boost from behind the camera, thanks to executive producer Suzanne DePasse, herself a former Motown exec, and director Allan Arkush (Rock 'n' Roll High School). That lineage probably pulls some punches in terms of individual characters and Gordy's machinations, but it also affords The Temptations its convincing detail, as does the generous running time--a mixed blessing, due to the original two-part broadcast, which might have benefited from tightening for this video version. Giving the show its greatest kick are the group's original hits, performed and choreographed convincingly in lip-synched sequences. --Sam Sutherland
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